President Santos: Year Three
by FanWriterWV
Summary: In the third year of his first term, Santos must deal with a difficult decision from Vice President Baker, and an old and influential friend who's unhappy with Santos' decision to support a tough antiillegal immigration bill.


President Santos Year Three: Of Politics and Principals

_The White House_

President Santos had known this was coming. He would have preferred otherwise, but everybody had been expecting this decision for quite some time now. Even so, Santos felt as if a member of his family was dying.

"Mr. President? Vice President Baker is here, sir."

_It's now or never, _he told himself. "Thank you, Ronna. Send him in."

The former governor and one-time Presidential candidate was as cordial as ever, but Santos could sense the underlying unease in the man as they shook hands.

"Thank you for agreeing to see me this way, Mr. President. I know that what I have to say is difficult for both of us."

"You're a good man, and you've been a good Vice President," Santos replied. "I hate to see you go…but I do understand your reasons. There's been no change in your wife's condition?"

Baker rubbed his eyes. "The doctors say she'll only get worse as time passes. I've arranged for a place where she can stay. I want to spend as much time with her as I can until…"

Santos put his hand on Baker's shoulder. "I understand. I've been there. It's never easy seeing a loved one pass away, especially like this."

"I never really wanted to run for President the last time," Baker said. "Did you know that? I was trying to send a message to the Democratic Party. But I would never have put my wife through the stress of a general campaign. And now…I wouldn't feel right about running for a second term." Baker looked at him. "It has been an honor and a privilege to serve you, sir."

Santos shook hands with the man he'd often felt should have gotten the nomination. "Good-bye, then, Eric. And good luck."

As the soon-to-be former Vice President left the Oval Office, Santos watched a huge part of the last three years go with him. Then he turned on the intercom.

"Ronna? Would you send Arnold Vinick in, please…?"

_Chief of Staff's Office_

"So he's really going through with it? President Santos wants Arnold Vinick to be his running mate next year?" Donna couldn't help sounding surprised.

Josh nodded. "He'll put the idea before the party leadership before he makes any public announcement."

Donna winced. "Some of them aren't going to like this. He's already in enough trouble for saying we're going to stay the course in Kazakhstan."

"Yeah, well, Arnold is the closest advisor Santos has had aside from Baker. Besides, as Secretary of State he's traditionally third in line for the presidency."

"You don't sound too happy, yourself," Donna gently chided. "Were you expecting him to give you the job?"

"That would have been ironic, wouldn't it? I can hear Leo now giving me a thousand reasons why I should turn him down." Josh's eyes momentarily misted over at the memory of his friend and former mentor. "But Arnold would be the best choice. He's got respect from both sides of the aisle, and he's still very popular with the voters."

"So you think this will work?"

"I think it'll work, yeah."

_The Oval Office, two weeks later_

"Come on in, Hector. I'm sorry I had to keep you waiting."

Hector Rodriguez, president of the Coalition for Immigration Reform, shook his old friend's hand. "No problem, Matthew. I know you've got your hands full these days with this Kazakhstan situation."

Hector and Santos had known each other since high school and had served in the Marines together. Hector's organization had grown from a small alliance of migrant workers to one of the most influential Latino groups in the country and was a major supporter of Santos's first presidential campaign. _But that was nearly four years ago, _Hector thought.

Santos knew why Hector was here and got straight to the point. The respect and friendship the two men had shared over the years demanded nothing less than total honesty between them. "Hector, I know how your group feels about the immigration bill. Before you say anything, this is not an attack on immigrants. I would think that you of all people would understand that."

"I know you, Matt. I know you think this bill is the right thing to do. But fences and monitoring equipment-and the National Guard? Those are Republican talking points. You should be dealing with enforcing the laws we already have and finding a way for the millions of our people who are already here to stay here, legally."

"That's what this bill promises to do, Hector. I _want _those people to be able to come out of hiding and become American citizens. But I also know that alienating the rest of the country to do it isn't the answer. Those commercials of yours make it sound like we want to criminalize all Hispanics."

"Matt, you know that wasn't what we meant to say. But treating people who haven't broken any other laws aside from crossing the border just to find work like hardened criminals is exactly what a lot of Republicans want to do." Hector stood up. "You know me, and my organization. You know we're not like those separatists who march with their Mexican flags and banners saying stuff like 'This country is our country, not yours.' But your support of this bill will alienate a lot of Hispanics. You have to realize that."

"I like to think it'll actually bring more Hispanics over to our side," Santos rebutted. "Most Mexican-Americans hate illegal immigration just as much as everybody else does. They know that the smugglers and the businesses that employ illegals are hurting all of us. This bill is designed to protect the rights of all Americans from the real criminals who run the smuggling operations. We need to make it clear that we are willing to defend our borders."

Rodriguez sighed. "You're right, of course. OK, I'll talk to my people again. And I'll get the ads pulled. But…this issue isn't going to go away."

"I know that, Hector. But I'm President of the entire United States, not just one group of people. I have to think about what's best for everybody's interests, and sometimes that means doing things that are unpopular."

Hector nodded. "You really have grown into this job. I'll see you on the campaign trail, Mr. President."

TBC!


End file.
